Last Friday night’s win in Snowflake put the Lady Roadrunners in an excellent position to claim the East Region crown. With just two region contests remaining Holbrook needed just one win to claim the regular season title and with it, the right to host the East Region tournament. Holbrook and Snowflake played even in the first frame, with five players from each team scoring to forge an 11-11 tie. In the second the Lobos edged ahead to lead 20-19 at the break. The Roadrunners pulled back in front by two after the third, then in the final eight minutes they attacked the basket and worked their way to the free throw line where they hit eight free throws to pull away and secure a 50-40 win. “This game was physical from the beginning and both teams did a good job of playing through it,” said Holbrook Coach Greg Perkins. “We felt we could get a good match up for Madison and Ariyana in the paint if we were patient with the ball. Dakota had her best game of the season handling the ball and really did a good job of facilitating our offense. “We knew this win would give us a very good chance to host the region tournament and the girls got the job done.” Madison Chappell led Holbrook with 14 points. Ariyana Pratt added 11; Dakota Dick, 9; Dishie Kinlicheenie, 5; Twyla Clark, 3; and Elena Smith, Tyler Pacheco, Tyanna Smith and Rayanna Wauneka, 2 each. Holbrook made one three-point shot and went 19 for 31 at the free throw line. Snowflake was led by Nikita Olms with 14. The Lady Lobos went 5 for 9 at the charity stripe and nailed three long range shots. On Saturday, fifth ranked Holbrook welcomed in second ranked Chinle. In their first meeting in December, the Lady Wildcats ran all over Holbrook in Chinle, scorching the nets for 83 points in the process. This time around, Holbrook played stellar defense, limiting the Cats’ high octane offense to just 32 points in a 42-32 win. Holbrook started quickly in front of a sell out crowd at Muñoz Gym. Pratt scored six early points and running mate Chappell added five to pace the home team to a 13-5 lead. In the second Chinle trimmed the lead to five despite Elena Smith’s three-point bomb for Holbrook. In the third both teams played hard on defense, holding each other to single digits. Chinle trailed 27-23 heading into the fourth. In the final stanza the Roadrunners went to work attacking the basket and again found themselves living at the free throw line, where they hit 11 to ice the 10-point win. Holbrook was led by Chappell with 20 points, who also pulled down 14 rebounds. Pratt added 6; Elena Smith, 5; Dick and Kinlicheenie, 3 each; Clark and Pacheco, 2 each; and Alishea Kee, 1. Holbrook again made just one three-point shot, but converted 15 of 20 free throw attempts. Chinle was led by Stacey Begay with 11. The Cats made one trey and went 3 for 11 at the line. “This was just a tremendous defensive effort by the girls. We went old school on our defense and played straight man for the entire game, and the girls really played hard,” said Coach Perkins. “Last time we played them they ran us out of the gym. We knew we had to slow down their two impressive guards and turn this into a half court game, and the girls were awesome with their defense. “Offensively, we got the ball to Madison and she really gave them problems and got the line. We are still struggling mightily from three-point range and will certainly have to improve on that this week. With four games in a row we should have plenty of chances.” The Roadrunners end the regular season with a flurry of games this week. After hosting Winslow on Tuesday, they will host Page tonight (Feb. 1) and Monument Valley on Thursday. On Friday they will put a wrap on the regular season with a trip to Payson. They entered this week ranked fifth in power points with an 11-3 record. Their overall season record is now 19-4.